Geoffrey of Monmouth

an English chronicler. He was born probably at Monmouth about 1100 and died about 1154. He entered the society of Benedictine monks and was raised later to the bishopric of St. Asaph. He wrote several works, the most important of which, Historia Regum Britanniae, is a history of the kings of Britain. The work is chiefly a translation of early manuscripts, and is legendary rather than historical. It gives what claims to be a genealogy of British kings from the time of Brutus, the Trojan, down to 688. Geoffrey's work is of no historical value, but it has preserved the traditions of King Arthur and his knights, the story of Sabrina, the story of King Lear, and many other legends.